That First Step
by skystar234
Summary: Jack couldn't sleep. Hotch couldn't let him keep having nightmares. He brought his son to someone who would help him with the nightmares, but she would end up helping them both take the first step to happiness again. Sorry Beth/Hotch shippers, she won't be featured in this piece...probably.
1. Chapter 1

**That First Step**

**Author's Note/Disclaimer: **I do not own Criminal Minds. If I did, I would be a much happier woman because there would be a host of sexy men at my call. Though I've been a member of this site for a long time, this is the first story I've posted here, and I would love some feedback! I also will point out that I do not have a Beta reader, so if there are any mistakes they are mine and I take full responsibility for them. So read, enjoy, and please comment and let me know how I'm doing!

**Chapter One: **

The first night after Haley died, neither of them slept. Jack kept replaying an old video of her and Hotch felt that if Jack was out of his sight for too long, he'd lose him too. So he let Jack curl up in his arms and kept rewinding old videos of Haley for the entire night.

Neither of them slept the night of the funeral either.

Hotch did not get a full night of sleep for about two weeks after Haley's death. Part of this was due to the number of cases he worked, and another part was due to the fact that Jack would wake up every night screaming. When Jack stayed with Jessica when he was gone, she said it took her quite a bit of time to even get him to sleep at all, and he still woke up screaming in the middle of the night.

After a few weeks of this, Hotch knew he needed to get Jack some professional help. One the flight home after a case, instead of sleeping, he started searching for someone, anyone, who could help Jack.

And, since he had access to one of the best computer hackers in the country, he had plenty of information to sort through.

Alfred Rosenblat? His record for bar visits was a little high for his liking. Who knew if he brought that problem with him to work or not?

Flora Caneridge specialized in PTSD, but she was going through what Garcia said was a "nasty" divorce. Jack didn't need someone whose personal problems might supersede his.

Hotch kept flipping through Garcia's files, growing more and more disillusioned with each one. How many alcoholic psychologists could there possibly be in Quantico?

He flipped to the last file and paused. This one looked pretty normal compared to the others.

Nina Connelly… Child psychologist specializing in severe traumas. Graduated first in her class from the University of Kansas with honors and earned her PHD from the University of Minnesota (which Garcia noted was one of the best in the country for psychology). And, despite the rigorous background check that Garcia put these psychologists through, there was only one notation on her record.

Hotch pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial 3.

"You have reached the Goddess of Tech, speak and be heard."

Hotch looked down at the file again. "Garcia, the psychologists you sent me-"

"Oh my god, it is extremely depressing looking into the lives of people we're supposed to spill our secrets to. I wonder if there's some sort of correlation between our depressing stories and their depressing lives?"

Hotch smirked slightly. "I'm sure there is, but I just need your input on one that you sent me, Nina Connelly?"

"Oh her! I liked her!" Hotch heard the clacking of Garcia's keyboard as she pulled up the woman's file. "So she's 38 years old, originally from Des Moines, Iowa, no marital status so far, she's a Virgo, and it looks like she has a pretty clean record."

Hotch looked carefully at the picture. "Define 'pretty clean'."

"It looks like she got a speeding ticket about three years ago, but she promptly paid it off. There's also a note from the officer who wrote the ticket- apparently she was driving her sister to the hospital because the sister was in labor. Kind of a jerk move to ticket her for that, but whatever."

Hotch considered this as he looked at the woman. She certainly seemed qualified. She had a neutral expression in the photo, but her eyes were soft and hinted at a person you could easily speak to. The tilt of her head and relaxed shoulders invited people in, as if she could help you.

"Right, thanks Garcia."

"No problem Boss Man. See you when you get back."

Hotch hung up and paused to look at the picture of Jack on his screen. It had been taken just a few months before Haley's death, she'd sent it to him since he couldn't see either of them. Hotch hadn't seen Jack smile that wide- or at all- in weeks.

He took another look at the woman in the photo and sighed.

'I really hope you're as good as you sound,' Hotch thought to himself.

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After the team had finished all their paperwork and gone home for the night, Hotch pulled up the website for Nina's Connelly's practice. There were only two listed psychologists working there, Connelly and a Miss Lisa Braden who specialized in developmental psychology. There were two listed receptionists, but no other staff members. It seemed as though the women strongly encouraged as much face-to-face time with patients as possible, rather than switching to whichever psychologist was available.

Hotch clicked on Nina's profile, which featured a picture of her in a graduation cap and gown and another list of credentials. She did say that she required a one-on-one meeting with the parents to evaluate the condition of the child before she could accept the child's case. She also specified that she worked weekdays, but was flexible for special cases.

All in all, it seemed like Connelly devoted a great deal of her time and energy to her patients, which Hotch could both respect and sympathize with. He did the same thing with his own cases, after all.

The next day when he picked up Jack from Jessica's house, he took the file and showed her the information. It didn't take much explanation for her to agree- she was worried about her nephew too.

Jack was so tired by another long night of nightmares that he was out by the time they got home. Hotch took advantage of the pause to call Connelly's office. The receptionist was very cheerful and set him up with an appointment the next day, allowing for a sigh of relief. The sooner Hotch could get Jack in, the better.

"Please let this work," he muttered to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note/Disclaimer: **I do not own Criminal Minds. Sadly. Also, I should probably point out a couple of things… One, I am not totally caught up on Criminal Minds yet (I only just started last year) so I still have about half of season nine left. That being said, if I get something wrong, let me know and I'll go back and fix it. Disclaimer number two: I actually think Beth and Hotch are adorable, I'm glad he has her on the show. But I want to throw in someone else and see what happens. So please read, leave me a comment and enjoy!

**Chapter 2:**

The office Hotch found himself in with Jack the next day practically radiated comfort. The walls were painted a dark blue with a lighter carpet, there were small tables with coloring utensils and glitter and glue, and toy boxes and books were set up in the corners.

Jack immediately went to the toy chest to sort through his prospects while Hotch checked in with the receptionist.

"Hi, can I help you?" The receptionist said brightly. The nameplate on the desk said 'Thea'.

Hotch nodded a little stiffly. "I have an appointment with Dr. Connelly for Jack Hotchner."

Thea typed the name and pulled up the record. "I see…this is your consultation appointment?"

Hotch nodded, glancing over his shoulder at Jack. "His aunt couldn't watch him today so he had to come with me."

Thea smiled sympathetically. "That is no problem Mr. Hotchner, he can stay here in the waiting area while you and Dr. Connelly talk." She handed Hotch the standard insurance file. "If you could just fill this out and bring it back please. The doctor will be with you in just a moment."

Hotch thanked the girl and sat down on one of the couches, quickly filling out all of the information on the form.

"Daddy! Daddy look!"

Jack came bounding over to the couch (with a surprising amount of energy for a kid who'd slept less than 10 hours in the past two days) to present his father with his discovery. It was a pile of action figures, and judging by one that was all green and purple-

"It's all the Avengers!" Jack said excitedly, piling them all onto the couch so that he could clamber up next to Hotch. "Like my ones at home!"

Hotch smiled at Jack's enthusiasm over the toys. He had been compared to Captain America several times- sometimes as a joke from his teammates, sometimes almost derisively by people on the case- but hearing it from Jack was practically an award. The little boy practically worshipped the Avengers. Captain America was the top of the Avengers pyramid, the God, and the others were Jack's archangels.

"That's really cool, buddy." Hotch said, ruffling his son's hair as he took a figure who had a bow and arrow strapped to his back.

"Who's this?" He asked. He knew, of course, but he liked hearing Jack explain the different characters to him.

"That's Hawkeye!" Jack said, taking the figure and holding it up next to the only girl figure in the pile. "He fights with arrows and never misses! He and Black Widow used to be bad guys, but they're good guys now!" He put both toys down and holds up a red and gold figure. "And this is Iron Man! He built a suit to fly around in and blows stuff up!"

"Well well, sounds like we have an expert!" A cheery voice proclaims and both Hotchners look up to see the brunette doctor leaning in the doorway, blue eyes twinkling merrily. "You must be quite a fan."

Jack nodded excitedly. "Yeah! I really like them all, but Captain America is my favorite! He saves people just like Daddy does!"

The doctor smiled, eyes traveling over the two. "Oh, really? Well, I'm a fan too. My favorite is the Hulk." She walked in and knelt down by the couch. "You must be Jack," she said, holding out her hand. "My name is Nina."

Jack shook her hand enthusiastically before she turned her gaze on Hotch. "And you must be Aaron. It's nice to meet you both."

Hotch took her hand, nodding his head. "It's good to meet you too, doctor. Thank you for seeing us so soon."

Dr. Connelly smiled. "Please, call me Nina. It's no trouble at all. I hope that I can be of help." She turned back to Jack as she stood up. "Your dad and I have to go talk in the other room for a little bit. Why don't I have Thea put on The Avengers for you?"

Jack's eyes widened. "Really? You have it here?"

Nina nodded, winking. "I told you, I'm a fan too. I have all the movies." She took the clipboard from Hotch and passed it to Thea, asking her to put in the movie for Jack, before gesturing Hotch to the open door. "Shall we?"

Hotch glanced at Jack, but realized that he would be occupied enough by the movie and toys that he wouldn't have to worry. He walked into Dr. Connelly's office and sat down in a chair as she closed the door.

"So, am I to infer that you run out in a suit and mask and fight bad guys?" Nina joked as she sat in her chair, diagonally from Hotch.

He laughed slightly at that. "Sort of, I suppose. Spandax doesn't really agree with me though." He felt himself being to relax- partly because of the joke, and partly because the office felt more like a living room than in an office. There were arms chairs he and Dr. Connelly were sitting in, a couch across from the them, one wall of bookshelves and large windows that lit up the room naturally. There was a desk and computer, but it was in the back corner of the room, almost as if it was an after thought.

Hotch leaned forward in his seat. "Actually, Dr. Connelly-"

"Stop."

Hotch paused, looking at the doctor, who was holding one hand up, in surprise. "Excuse me?" 

"Rule number one in here Mr. Hotchner- no calling me doctor. I try very hard to form a close relationship with these kids and their parents, and doctor makes me sound stuffy and unapproachable." She smiled widely, which made it hard for Hotch to believe that anyone found her unapproachable. "Call me Nina. If you absolutely have to be super polite, especially in front of Jack, I'll take Miss Nina."

Hotch smiled abck. "Fair enough. In that case, you can call me Aaron."

Nina sat back in her chair contentedly. "Great. Now you may continue."

Hotch paused to collect his thoughts. Where to begin with this story…

Nina seemed to realize that Hotch was unsure of where to start. She leaned forward slightly in her chair and tilted her head, like she did in the picture. "What exactly is it that you do?"

"I'm a Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI." Hotch said, grateful for the nudge. "I'm a profiler in the Behavioral Analysis Unit."

Nina raised her eyebrows. "That is impressive. You figure out why killers do what they do?"

Hotch nodded. "Well, we try to." He paused again. "Sometimes we fail. That's…that's kind of why we're here today."

Nina's eyes softened at his statement. "Tell me whatever you can, Aaron." She said softly. "I need as much as you can give me to know if I can help Jack."

Hotch steeled himself before speaking again. Though his face was just as stern and stoic as always, Nina sensed him stiffening and composing himself. She wondered if he ever really let himself relax- he'd been slightly tense this entire time, even when he was laughing.

"I brought Jack here because about two months ago, one of my cases followed me back." Hotch said woodenly. "Jack and his mother were attacked, and Haley was killed."

Nina sat back, letting this image wash over her. "Did Jack…see?"

Hotch shook his head. "The killer let me talk to them first. Jack and I have a secret code to go and hide, so he didn't see it. But he heard it."

Hotch took another breath. "He hasn't really slept since that night. The only time he really sleeps is when he gets so tired that he passes out. I try to be home when I can, but I'm worried about him."

Nina nodded sympathetically. "I understand, Aaron. That's really every parents' worst fear, their children being scared of something and not being able to make them feel safe again." She paused, and Hotch sensed she was choosing her next words very carefully. "Your word choice, before. You said 'Jack's mother' and 'Haley'."

Hotch got the question without her asking. "Jaley and I were divorced when Jack was almost two." He admitted. "My job…it takes a lot of time and attention. We tried to make it work, but in the end she was tired of my never being there."

During most of his retelling, Hotch had kept his eyes lowered. He tried not to show it to anyone, but his failed marriage haunted him. He had loved Haley, and he still wished he could have made things work between them, especially for Jack.

When he did look up, he had expected slight judgement, maybe some scorn for pushing his family aside for his job. Instead he was met with a steady gaze, pain and understanding buried somewhere deep.

"It's a hard line to walk." Nina said softly. She glanced at the papers on the table next to them, assessing needs and resources. "You are back at work then?"

Hotch nodded. "Haley's sister actually pushed me into it. She said that Jack needed to know that I was still out there catching bad guys, that he would feel safer knowing that. She watches him when I'm away on a case."

Nina nodded approvingly. "Sounds like a smart woman. Anyone with two eyes can see how much that boy adores you, and knowing that you're out helping people probably does make him feel a little safer."

"I'm just worried that instead of thinking that, he's more focused on why I wasn't there at bedtime," Hotch admitted. He wasn't sure why he was sharing all this information- she was supposed to be helping Jack, not him. But it all was just spilling out of him- the woman was good at her job.

Nina smiled and shook her head. "He compares you to a superhero, Aaron." She pointed out. "Maybe he'll miss you at bedtime, but he knows that because you're out there, there are less bad guys to be scared of."

Before either of them could say anything else, the old Grandfather clock in the corner began to chime 'Greensleeves'. Nina started gathering up her papers. "Guess that's all the time we have," she joked before standing. "Based on everything I've heard and seen today, I'd love to work with Jack."

Hotch let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. He hadn't thought Nina wouldn't be able to work with Jack, but hearing that she could and would make it seem more likely that Jack would be fine.

"I think two sessions a week would probably be a good place to start…" Nina said thoughtfully, scribbling on her notepad. "After seeing him a couple of times we can figure out if he needs more or less visits. You do have a pretty time consuming job- would it be easier to talk to your sister-in-law about when she would be able to bring Jack?"

Hotch shook his head. "I want to come with him, at least the first couple of times," he said. "My director is willing to allow me extra time on break to come here and get back to the office." It had been a bit of an argument with Strauss, but no one expected his situation to be easy and he had a decent amount of vacation time saved up if it became a problem.

Nina looked a little surprised but shrugged and glanced back at her schedule. "All right then. How about we do Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 12:30 to 1:45? That should give us enough time to do a couple of exercises in a session. I usually don't let parents sit in, but I have done a couple of activities in the past that you could participate in. Those usually come in later in the treatment though…."

Hotch had to smirk a little as she started rambling off, sort of like Reid did. She was rambling about many different ideas and treatments, but as soon as they walked through the door her attention was focused on Jack again.

"Ah, one of my favorite parts," she said, sitting down next to him as Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor all started arguing onscreen. "They all work together so well in the end, but it takes so long to get there."

Jack looked up at Hotch, eyes bright. "Can we come back sometime, Daddy?" 

Hotch raised his eyebrows at Nina, who smirked back. "Actually, Miss Nina and I decided that you're going to come on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

Jack's eyes went wide and he scrambled off the couch to first hug Hotch's legs, and then to run to the counter to excitedly tell Thea he would be coming back. Hotch chuckled. "I haven't seen him smile like that in awhile," he said softly.

Nina shrugged, eyes twinkling. "What I can I say? I'm that good." She eyes Aaron as she handed the papers to Thea. "Does Jack know why you're bringing him here?" When Aaron shook his head, she nodded. "Might be something you want to discuss with him."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note/Disclaimer: **Sorry that this has been a week or two! I'm still trying to get on board with writing under a deadline and getting something posted in a decent amount of time. I'm doing my absolute best to get better so that it won't be so long between posts. But I would like to thank dreamsnatcher, Jean-Moddalle, LoveLiveLIfe22 and Guest (whoever you are) for reviewing my story. You have no idea how much that made my day. Hope you enjoy this next bit!

**Chapter 3**

Nina had explained that Jack's first session would be about getting to know him and assessing his current mental state. She probably wouldn't be talking about Haley, unless Jack brought it up, and Jack hadn't even brought it up to Hotch.

Then again, Hotch had told her more than he'd ever intended to during their meeting.

That night, when he was tucking Jack into bed, he was trying to figure out how to bring up the soon-to-be-twice-a-week meetings in as natural a way as possible. Jack ended up beating him to it.

"Daddy, I like Miss Nina. She's nice," He said, circled up with his Captain America action figure.

"That's good," Hotch said, trying to figure out how to start. "You're going to see her a lot, so I hope that you like her."

Jack looked up at him with his big brown eyes- Haley's eyes- innocently. "Why am I going to see Miss Nina so much? She was mostly talking to you."

Hotch ruffled Jack's hair a bit as he sat down next to him on the bed. "Well buddy, Miss Nina, is going to try to help you." He said carefully. "Aunt Jessica and I are worried because you're having such a hard time sleeping."

Jack's lip started quivering at the mention of his nightmares. "I have to talk to her about them?"

Immediately Hotch started to backtrack. "Not if you don't want to, buddy," He said gently. "Miss Nina just wants to help you. Whatever makes you feel comfortable okay? We just hope that she'll be able to help the nightmares go away."

Jack nodded and curled up into a little ball, yawning. Hotch ruffled his hair again and pulled the covers over him. Odds were that he would be back in the room again in just a couple of hours, but Hotch hoped that the nighttime visits would be lessening son.

They needed to.

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Before Hotch knew it, it was Tuesday and he had picked up Jack and was driving to Dr. Connelly's office.

His previous hesitation forgotten, Jack was bouncing up and down in his seat in the back. It wasn't every day that a grown-up wanted to talk to him about the Avengers, and it was fun to talk to one that did. Jack had brought along his own Captain America figure this time, which Hotch figured Dr. Connelly would appreciate for her analysis.

When they reached the office, Jack hopped out of the car and ran in to show Thea his figure. When Hotch got inside, Jack was demonstrating Captain America's shield-throwing button. Hotch noticed that the TV was playing Captain America as well.

"Jack!" Dr. Connelly said cheerfully, coming in from her office. "I thought I heard some serious Avengers love coming from in here."

Hotch held back a chuckle as he noticed that instead of a uniform, like she'd been wearing the first time they'd talked, she was dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a shirt emblazoned with the Avengers insignia.

"Dr. Connelly," He said shaking her hand. "You're looking to make quick friends I see."

Nina narrowed her eyes jokingly. "What did I say about calling me doctor?" She asked before looking at Jack. "I think your dad's jealous because I have cooler clothes than him." 

Jack giggled. "I like your shirt!" He turned to Hotch quickly. "I like your clothes too, Daddy!"

Hotch chuckled. "It's okay, Jack. If Dr. Connelly wants to make fun of my clothes, I can just keep calling her doctor."

Nina threw her hands up in fake frustration. "Gah! Two against one!" She sighed dramatically and threw Jack a wink. "Guess I'll just have to convert you when you come to see me."

Nina crossed to the chest in the corner and pulled out the Hulk action figure Jack had grabbed last week. "Well, I feel like playing some. You and the Cap want to join in, Jack?" She asked, making the boy light up.

He did look to Hotch first, as if asking for permission. "Go ahead," Hotch encouraged. "I'll be right out here when you're done."

Jack reattached Captain America's child and scurried into the office behind Nina. She threw Hotch a reassuring smile before closing the door behind them.

Hotch did his best to settle in for the next hour, but he couldn't help glancing at the door every so often.

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Nina saw that Jack had crawled into one of the chairs, expecting for it to be like school or his dad's office. With kids though, she'd noticed that the chairs made them a lot more tense. So she ignored the chair and plopped down on the floor.

"I don't know who ordered those chairs, but I can't play as well in them," She said, like she was telling Jack some big, important secret. Just like she'd figured, as soon as he saw it was okay, the boy giggled and slid out of the chair himself.

"See?" Nina said encouragingly. "Much more space." The first 15 minutes of the session was spent playing with the action figures. You could actually learn a lot about kids based on how they played.

For example, Jack had no trouble leading the "plot", which demonstrated his leadership capabilities in other aspects. He had little to no trouble interacting with Nina, which said a lot about his confidence and people skills.

After they played for awhile, Nina was having a hard time seeing any hint of Jack being troubled at all. If Aaron hadn't told her about his mother, Nina wasn't sure that she would have noticed anything was wrong. She didn't want to push him too hard, since it was just his first day, so she asked him some easy questions.

"When did you start liking the Avengers, Jack?"

He gave her that incredulous look that only children are capable of giving, the one where they seem to question why grown-ups are the ones in charge when they ask such stupid questions.

"I've always liked them," He said, like it was obvious. "They're just like Daddy and his team. They help people."

Jack continued to play while he talked, and Nina noticed that there was an interesting method to his playing. Most boys who played with action figures made the figures fight each other, eventually with one triumphing over the other, no matter which figures they were playing with. Jack was not making his characters fight, but Captain America was directing the others and fighting an invisible enemy.

Jack was very innocent, despite what he'd been through, but he was also very aware of violence. And he did not partake in it.

Nina wondered if this came from his father or his mother.

"Tell me about your aunt," She encouraged. "Your dad says that she spends a lot of time with you while he's away."

Jack nodded. "She has to watch me whenever Daddy's away. She takes me out to the park and we play soccer, just like Mommy and I used to."

It was the first time that Jack had mentioned his mother. Honestly, Nina hadn't expected him to this soon, it took most kids a lot longer to bring up a deceased parent under the best circumstances (and Jack's were far from the best).

She did know, however, that it was too soon to try and get Jack to talk more about Haley, so she simply smiled and said "Well, maybe if the weather's nice next time, I can bring a ball and we'll play outside."

Jack agreed immediately. "Can Daddy play too? Aunt Jessica always lets me win. I think she feels bad for me cuz she's still taller than me."

Probably wasn't about the height, but it was better than him knowing the real reason.

"Of course he can," Nina promised. "Besides, I have a feeling I'm going to need someone else on my team to beat you!"

"But Daddy has to be on my team!" Jack protested. "He's mine!"

There was a knock o the door and Thea poked her head inside. "Sorry for interrupting, but it's almost a quarter till."

Nina nodded and smiled at Jack. "Guess that means we'll have to argue about teams when you come in next time."

She waited until Jack was up and going into the other room before scribbling down some notes about the session. Then she walked out to meet Hotch, who was listening to Jack describe his and Miss Nina's 'playtime'.

"That sounds like a lot of fun, buddy," Hotch said, glancing at the doctor, who was just watching them with a smile.

"And Miss Nina said that next time, we can go outside and play soccer! And she said you can play too!" Jack looked at him excitedly. "You'll be able to play, won't you? And Miss Nina says that you should be on her team because I'm so good but you need to be on my team!"

Nina chuckled at how fast Jack was talking. "I was just joking, Jack. You can have Mr. Super Soldier," She teased, making Jack start chattering again and Hotch raise his eyebrows.

"Super Soldier?" He asked, a little amused.

Nina shrugged. "That was kinda on the fly, I'll come up with something better later. And you'd better wear something other than a suit if you really want to play next time." As Jack started putting on his jacket, she moved closure to Hotch and lowered her voice. "He mentioned Haley to me."

Hotch jerked, but Nina kept a hand on his arm so he wouldn't startle Jack. "That's…is that good?"

"I don't know," Nina admitted. "It's too early to know exactly what Jack wants or needs. But I assume he hasn't talked about her at all until now?" Hotch nodded.

"Well, it's a start then."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note/Disclaimer: **I, unfortunately, do not own Criminal Minds. I do, however, own Nina Connelly and a few new characters that I will introduce to you all today! Thanks goes out to Jean-Moddalle, Guest and hoove-print-on-your-heart for their reviews, and thanks to the other large number of people who have liked and/or followed this story. I didn't expect it to catch on so quickly and you have no idea how happy it makes me to know that people are reading. Drop me a review to let me know I'm doing a good job, or if there's something you'd like to say about what I'm doing!

**Chapter Four: **

The entire week at the BAU was dedicated to paperwork after the Samantha Malcolm case. She had been abused by her psychiatrist father, tortured so that she wouldn't tell, and bribed with dolls.

When they were taken away from her, she had begun kidnapping women to turn into life-size versions of the dolls. The BAU had caught her in time to save her last three victims, but strangely that only added on to the amount of paperwork the team needed to finish.

Morgan leaned back in his desk and groaned. "How is it that the cases we finish in a timely manner make even more paperwork for us?"

Rossi didn't even glance up from his stack of files. "The less that they have us outside of the office in the field, the more work to complete later. If you think this is bad, you should see Hotch's pile." 

As if on cue, Hotch walked out of his office. But unlike any other time the team had ever seen him, Hotch was not wearing is usual professional suit and tie. He was wearing a red and white sweatsuit.

The entire team stared as if a unicorn had wandered into the bullpen- honestly, they would have thought that the unicorn was more likely.

Hotch kept his usual straight face and walked past all of them to the elevator. "I'm taking my break," He said without giving anyone a chance to respond. "I'll be back in an hour and a half."

The rest of the team sat shell-shocked in their seats- Prentiss' mouth was hanging open. Rossi got up and followed Hotch to the elevator just in time to hear Morgan ask, "Is there some kind of new 'casual Friday' rule I didn't know about?"

Rossi hopped in the elevator next to Hotch, smirking when he saw the usually composed man attempt not to look at him or seem too embarrassed.

"So…jogging on your breaks now?" Rossi said, doing his absolute best to keep from sounding like he was laughing. "Or have you ditched the suits for good?"

Hotch closed his eyes and did his absolute best not to roll his eyes. "It's for Jack's therapy." He said quietly. He hated calling it 'therapy', but he didn't know what other word to use.

This, of course, sobered Rossi right up. "How's he doing?" He asked tentatively. Hotch hadn't told anyone on the team except him about Jack's night terrors, and he knew how much of a toll it took on both father and son.

"He's only had one session," Hotch said, folding his arms. "There hasn't been much change yet."

Rossi nodded- that was to be expected. The poor kid had so much trauma to deal with, helping him was going to take a decent amount of time. He knew Hotch was relatively confident in the doctor he had chosen, and clearly the confidence was well founded if they could get Hotch into semi-comfortable clothing.

"So how exactly is the suit helping? Unless it makes you seem like less of a scary agent."

Hotch knew it was meant in jest and felt his mouth twitch a little bit. "No, Jack told Dr. Connelly about how he and Haley used to like to play soccer. The weather's good today and she said if the weather was good they'd play. Jack insisted I'd be allowed to play too."

Rossi nodded and smirked as the elevator stopped on the first floor. "Well, I hope Jack and his doctor take it easy on you," He teases. "It's been awhile since you've played."

Hotch did roll his eyes this time and just waved him off as the doors slid shut. He was never going to hear the end of this…

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Halfway across town, Nina was attempting to field her own frustration as she tried to balance her cell phone between her shoulder and her ear.

"All I'm saying is that it wouldn't kill you to be the one who picks up the phone every once in awhile!"

Sometimes Nina's favorite person in the world was also her least favorite.

"I'm sorry Lena, I've just been a little busy is all," Nina said, trying to hold the phone and put on her running pants at the same time. "I just got a new kid, so I've been putting together his file to figure out what he needs." She finally managed to get her pants on so that she could hold the phone like a normal person. "He's a really interesting case so I've needed to look through all of my unusual programs too…come to think of it, I could use some of my old theories from school-"

"All right, I know that it is important to you when you start chattering on like a monkey," Lena sighed. "Just keep in mind that my daughter would like to hear her aunt and godmother's voice MORE than once every two weeks." 

Immediately Nina relaxed and smiled. "How is Willow?" She asked, the softness in her tone apparent.

"She's doing great," Lena said, happier at the mention of her little girl. "She loves the sticker book you sent her; she has Frozen characters all over her toybox."

Nina grinned as she pulled her keys from her purse and looked the door behind her. "Well, if you and Liam are looking for a little 'alone time,' I would be happy to take her for a sing-along night."

"I knew there was a reason I named you godmother!" Lena cried dramatically, making Nina laugh.

"Hey, I'm about to get in the car, so we can set up the details later okay?" Nina said, sliding into her Camry and buckling up.

"Sure, sure. If you have any time for family this weekend, just give me a call," Lena teased before hanging up.

Nina held the phone to her ear for a few more seconds, heart heavy at her sister's last words. She had said them in jest, but she'd said them before in anger. Her mother had too.

Nina closed her eyes for a brief moment and shook herself. She needed to focus on her work- Jack Hotchner needed her help, not her problems.

_**CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM**_

Nina got to the office only an hour before Jack and Hotch, greeting Thea before walking into her office. She filled out a few files before going out to the field in back of the office to set up some makeshift goals for the soccer game. She had come back inside and was tying her long brown hair back into a ponytail when she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"You know, most doctors wear long coats to work." Nina looked up to see the smirk on Dr. Lisa Braden's face as she leaned in the doorway.

She smirked right back. "Well, it would be pretty hard to play soccer in a lab coat, wouldn't it?" She said sassily.

Lisa laughed. "You know, sometimes I think that you use recreational therapy to your advantage too."

Nina shrugged playfully, walking out into the waiting are just in time to see Jack and Hotch walk in. She had to hold in a laugh at Hotch's jumpsuit- after seeing him look so professional all the time, it was hilarious to see him look both comfortable and yet so uncomfortable at the same time.

"Miss Nina!" Jack said excitedly, running over to her. "We're all dressed up to play! Even Daddy!"

"I can see that," Nina said, eyes twinkling as she looked at Hotch. "You both look very sporty."

She turned to Lisa. "This is my newest buddy Jack," She said. She never called the kids 'patients' for the same reason that she wouldn't let them call her doctor. She wanted them to trust her, open up, and not look at her like she was a scary grownup. It was easier to trust someone who treated you like a person.

"Jack, this is Miss Lisa. She works here too."

Jack looked up at the woman innocently. "Are you going to play with us too?" He asked sweetly, making Lisa almost feel bad for having to say no.

"I can't sweetie, I have to go get some of my work done," She said apologetically. "But I hope you and your dad will have fun!" She shook Hotch's hand, smiling. "It's nice to meet you, Mr…?"

"Hotchner," Hotch supplied, feeling a little silly for wearing a track suit while this woman was wearing official clothes.

Nina sensed his discomfort and clapped her hands together. "Well, we're wasting good weather! Jack, Aaron, I've got a couple of goals set up out back." She directed them towards the doors and Jack waved at Lisa.

"It was good to meet you," Aaron said politely before following Jack outside.

"You too!" Lisa said. As soon as Hotch's back was to her, she raised her eyebrows suggestively at Nina and mouthed, 'He's hot!'


End file.
